Members of the Normandy Oaks Golf Club task force recommended ballot language to sell up to 10 acres of the 9-hole course while a survey shows residents are split on the issue.

The ballot language is expected to be approved by the city commission and go before city voters in the Nov. 4 election. If voters approve, the city is expected to create a park on the golf course land. The 50-acre course is slated to close following this season.

The ballot proposal would repeal an existing ordinance voters passed several years ago prohibiting sale of the golf course property, and would authorize the city to sell up to 10 acres and use the money for parks.

The task force includes Mayor Jim Ellison, two city commissioners and two members of the city Parks and Recreation Advisory Board. They have recommended selling off up to a fifth of the property to housing developers and turning the rest of the course into a park.

But Ellison said park features are in flux and only conceptual at this point. Though the task force earlier dismissed a municipal pool as too expensive, Ellison has requested a study to nail down actual costs and show the benefits and drawbacks of a pool.

“We’re simply trying to figure out a way to get some recreational amenities without burdening the taxpayers,” he said at a task force meeting Tuesday night. “There’s been a lot of criticism based on this being a final plan and it’s not – it’s a conceptual plan.”

A non-scientific survey of 597 residents, most of them taking part in an online questionnaire, showed a large majority them favor including all of the park features suggested by the task force with the exception of the soccer fields which have only modest support, said Judy Davids, community engagement specialist for the city.

The survey showed 51 percent of survey respondents overall favored selling Normandy Oaks property on Nakota Road, Delemere Boulevard and Woodland Avenue. There was greater support for selling the property on Nakota and Delemere, but slightly more people oppose selling land along Woodland than favor it.

“The question (on the survey) was not clear that selling the property is the only way we can make improvements” for a park at Normandy Oaks, Davids said.

Though a proposal to lease the land to Oakland County for $1 a year to create park at Normandy Oaks for all county residents was initially opposed by the task force, members directed City Manager Don Johnson to contact the county to do a presentation for the task force.

County park officials would have to do their own public engagement process before having a clear idea of what amenities they would put into a park at Normandy Oaks, Johnson told task force members.

Still, it appears there is no strong desire among the task force members to turn the land over to the county to create a park without selling off any of the land.

“I’m still inclined to do it ourselves,” Ellison said.

Many older residents who live in northern Royal Oak in the 48073 ZIP code area oppose selling any of the golf course land for housing development, based on 62 surveys they filled out at a town hall meeting last week.

About two dozen residents turned out for the task force meeting Tuesday at City Hall.

Some longtime older residents oppose moving ahead with the plan to turn Normandy Oaks into a park, citing unknown costs for park amenities and other issues.

City officials estimate selling up to 10 acres of land to housing developers would raise $4 million to $6 million.

“We have no idea of what we are going to put in there and how much it is going to cost,” said resident Bob Luxon. “$5 million doesn’t go very far.”

Others are opposed to building dozens of new, likely larger, homes near the golf course.